Wearable Copper Circuits
10-30 min
Ages 8+
What Will You Learn?
Use what you’ve learned about paper circuits to create circuits on your body with copper tape.
About This Adventure
Today, fashion designers are not limited to fabrics in their designs. Technology has become part of our story and is much more accessible. Young designers can use tech such as lights, sensors, and microcontrollers to tell their stories.
In this adventure, you will experience and experiment as we go through the MakeFashion Edu process to support campers as they:
learn – about the elements of fashion and circuits
design – a story and the wearable
construct – a fashion tech piece using recyclable materials and lights
exhibit – be seen! Our favorite medium is the runway.
You will be able to support your designers as they find their voices and tell their own stories through fashion pieces they create and share.
This adventure is divided into several sections, each with its own projects. The bolded project denotes the page you are on. The arrows mark the section you are in.
Add a Copper Circuit to Your Arm
How can you create a copper circuit on your arm? Check out these designs? What can you create?
You can transfer the skills you learned above to create the circuit! If you would like a reminder, here are the quick steps:
One piece of copper tape creates the “positive wire”, remember to connect the long leg of the LED to the positive line, and the positive side of the battery (with a + on it) to the positive line.
Another piece of copper tape, not touch the first, creates the “negative wire”. It gets the other side of the battery, and the short leg of the LED!
Adding an Accessory
Could you incorporate an object into your circuit? How would you build this? The easiest way is to make an object conductive, check out the piece of paper and then pen below.
Do you see how they work? Can you make something else conductive and combine it with your circuit?
About MakeFashion
MakeFashion Edu is an international non-profit working to promote learning through fashion and tech. Through hosting workshops, reach-out and push-in activities, and larger events, MakeFashion Edu sees providing access for young designers to go to industry and project-based learning as one way to pull local communities together.
SteamHead makerspace is a network of people, spaces, and events who collaborate to improve equity in education as the path forward. We believe that by embracing design thinking and a maker-mindset, education can be more engaging and meaningful, and with that more effective in preparing students for success. Check their website for their courses.
Materials:
- Copper tape
- LEDs
- Coin cell battery (CR2032)
- Pen or pencil
